These instructions are for the upgrade of the HT-PAD-1051 Tianfeng tablet to the latest and most stable firmware, which at the time of writing this guide is Herotab M10v2 Slatedroid Singularity Firmware v5. My thanks to the contributions from the much more experienced forum members such as Reimar, JGZinv, Roger Calver and several others from whose various posts I have borrowed instructions and content for this guide.
WARNING - BE SURE TO THOROUGHLY RESEARCH\UNDERSTAND ANY MODIFICATIONS YOU MAKE TO YOUR TABLET BEFORE PROCEEDING, AS SLATEDROID MEMBERS CANNOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED.
Necessary hardware\software for this project - Paper clip, tablet to PC USB cable and a computer running Windows 7 (32bit and 64bit), WinXP will also work but this guide is written from a Win7 perspective:
1. Fully charge your tablet and backup any data\apps you would like to keep to the external media of your choice
2. Confirm your tablet's internal storage capacity from Settings > SD card and device storage > Usr Space section, which should be 4GB or 8GB or 16GB, this step is very important as the upgrade packs are built specifically for the correct storage variants
3. Go to my MediaFire folder, download the firmware upgrade kit with the first three digits of the name matching your internal storage capacity noted from step 2 and save it to your desktop
http://www.mediafire.com/?oadd3hlc5u5vy
This will be the 8GB firmware pack for most people, which I shall use as a reference point for the rest of this guide
4. Extract all the contents of the above zip file to a folder called "gpad" on your desktop
5. Connect your tablet's USB port located immediately under the home button to your PC using the cable that came with it (although my iPhone cable seems to work just fine)
6. Put your tablet into maintenance (bootstrap) mode by powering it down, powering it up and pressing the volume down button at the same time, which should prompt Windows 7 to install the device as "SE Blank ELVIS"
7. Install the correct USB driver by right clicking on Computer > Manage > Device Manager > Other Devices > SE Blank EVLIS > Update Driver > Browse my computer for driver software, then navigate to:
desktop\gpad\8GB-HT-PAD-1051-Tianfeng-FW-Upgrade-Pack\Drivers\
8. Click on the option to "Install this driver software anyway" and Windows will install the device driver which should appear in your device list as "i.MX51 Mass Storage Device"
9. We are now ready to inject the new firmware to the tablet using the manufacturer's firmware flashing tool by clicking on:
desktop\gpad\8GB-HT-PAD-1051-Tianfeng-FW-Upgrade-Pack\MfgTool.exe
10. From the MfgTool main window select Options > Configuration > USB ports and ensure ONLY the "Freescale i.MX51 Bulk IO Device" entry box is ticked
11. Press OK to go back to main MfgTool window and ensure you have an entry within one of the four horizontal boxes containing "i.MX51 Bulk IO Device"
12. Now click on the green Start button and kick back for 5 minutes while your tablet firmware is updated over the USB cable
13. Once the process is complete you will see MfgTool reporting "Unrecognised Device" where it was previously displaying "i.MX51 Bulk IO Device", at which point you will need to disconnect your tablet from the USB connection, close MfgTool and press the tablet's reset button next to the headphone socket with a paper clip
14. You should now be in a position to power up your tablet with a fresh install of Roger Calver's excellent Slatedroid Singularity v5 firmware, which will initially appear to run a little slow but a reboot after the initial boot up should speed things right up!
15. OPTIONAL - I installed the following apps to enhance the tablet's performance\usability, all of which are freely available from the Market and compatible with our tablet
Skype - free phone calls
mVideo Player - improved video player
Titanium Backup - app removal\backup tool
Flash Player - necessary for on line video viewing
ES Task Manager - running task\process optimisation tool
enjoy your updated tablet
WARNING - BE SURE TO THOROUGHLY RESEARCH\UNDERSTAND ANY MODIFICATIONS YOU MAKE TO YOUR TABLET BEFORE PROCEEDING, AS SLATEDROID MEMBERS CANNOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED.
Necessary hardware\software for this project - Paper clip, tablet to PC USB cable and a computer running Windows 7 (32bit and 64bit), WinXP will also work but this guide is written from a Win7 perspective:
1. Fully charge your tablet and backup any data\apps you would like to keep to the external media of your choice
2. Confirm your tablet's internal storage capacity from Settings > SD card and device storage > Usr Space section, which should be 4GB or 8GB or 16GB, this step is very important as the upgrade packs are built specifically for the correct storage variants
3. Go to my MediaFire folder, download the firmware upgrade kit with the first three digits of the name matching your internal storage capacity noted from step 2 and save it to your desktop
http://www.mediafire.com/?oadd3hlc5u5vy
This will be the 8GB firmware pack for most people, which I shall use as a reference point for the rest of this guide
4. Extract all the contents of the above zip file to a folder called "gpad" on your desktop
5. Connect your tablet's USB port located immediately under the home button to your PC using the cable that came with it (although my iPhone cable seems to work just fine)
6. Put your tablet into maintenance (bootstrap) mode by powering it down, powering it up and pressing the volume down button at the same time, which should prompt Windows 7 to install the device as "SE Blank ELVIS"
7. Install the correct USB driver by right clicking on Computer > Manage > Device Manager > Other Devices > SE Blank EVLIS > Update Driver > Browse my computer for driver software, then navigate to:
desktop\gpad\8GB-HT-PAD-1051-Tianfeng-FW-Upgrade-Pack\Drivers\
8. Click on the option to "Install this driver software anyway" and Windows will install the device driver which should appear in your device list as "i.MX51 Mass Storage Device"
9. We are now ready to inject the new firmware to the tablet using the manufacturer's firmware flashing tool by clicking on:
desktop\gpad\8GB-HT-PAD-1051-Tianfeng-FW-Upgrade-Pack\MfgTool.exe
10. From the MfgTool main window select Options > Configuration > USB ports and ensure ONLY the "Freescale i.MX51 Bulk IO Device" entry box is ticked
11. Press OK to go back to main MfgTool window and ensure you have an entry within one of the four horizontal boxes containing "i.MX51 Bulk IO Device"
12. Now click on the green Start button and kick back for 5 minutes while your tablet firmware is updated over the USB cable
13. Once the process is complete you will see MfgTool reporting "Unrecognised Device" where it was previously displaying "i.MX51 Bulk IO Device", at which point you will need to disconnect your tablet from the USB connection, close MfgTool and press the tablet's reset button next to the headphone socket with a paper clip
14. You should now be in a position to power up your tablet with a fresh install of Roger Calver's excellent Slatedroid Singularity v5 firmware, which will initially appear to run a little slow but a reboot after the initial boot up should speed things right up!
15. OPTIONAL - I installed the following apps to enhance the tablet's performance\usability, all of which are freely available from the Market and compatible with our tablet
Skype - free phone calls
mVideo Player - improved video player
Titanium Backup - app removal\backup tool
Flash Player - necessary for on line video viewing
ES Task Manager - running task\process optimisation tool